A British tourist has written to the Mayor of Venice after he was presented with a €526 ($883) bill for lunch.
Luke Tang, a lecturer from Birmingham, said he and his elderly parents were shocked to be charged so much for their seafood lunch.
He accused the restaurant, Trattoria Casanova, of taking advantage of the language barrier. Waiters brought them dishes they had not asked for and did not disclose the cost, he said.
In a letter to Luigi Brugnaro, the city's Mayor, Tang, 49, wrote: "I wanted to draw your attention [to] the behaviour of this business, [which] will ruin the reputation of Venice. It is disgraceful and indeed the shame of Venice." The bill was for a lunch of oysters, spaghetti, grilled fish and crayfish.
The owners said that prices were clearly displayed. "We gave them what they ordered. The prices of the fish, per 100 grams, are shown clearly on the menu," a manager said.
